Pioneer XDJ-R1 All-In-One DJ Controller & Remotebox iOS App Launched

The new Pioneer XDJ-R1 has USB, CDs, line/phono-ins, and iOS remote control.

Pioneer today announced the Pioneer XDJ-R1, a DJ controller that can play music from USB, built-in CD players or external line/phono sources, and which has a host of mobile DJ-friendly features including mic in and booth and XLR outputs. It can also operate with a laptop as a "normal" Midi/audio interface controller, and ships with Virtual DJ LE. But its unique twist is the way it wirelessly adds controllerist-friendly functions via iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and a brand-new app, Remotebox.

Read on for a full summary, our thoughts, a talkthrough video, how to get a demo of the software, pricing, and a link to Pioneer's official info.

Pioneer XDJ-R1: Digital DJ Tips Talkthrough

The Pioneer XDJ-R1 looks similar to the previous model in the XDJ range, the XDJ-Aero. But whereas the XDJ-Aero can stream music wirelessly from any device running Rekordbox, the XDJ-R1 drops that capability, instead adding the ability to remote control the unit from any iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. A two-channel controller, it features a built-in sampler, three cue-points buttons, and a rubberised rack at its rear onto which you can perch your iDevice (definitely iPhone; not sure about iPad, although it appears that's what they've done in the demo video). Your iOS device then connects to the XDJ-R1 wirelessly (there's no wired option at all). The XDJ-R1 has its own built-in WiFi network, and connection to the iDevice and the Remotebox app happens via this.

Once your iOS device is connected, a small light confirms the connection, and Remotebox is active.

While traditional "remote control" is indeed possible (the mixer, decks, FX, library etc can all be managed from the app anywhere within reach of the XDJ-R1's wireless network), one of the main uses of an iDevice with the XDJ-R1 is as a large screen while you're stood right in front of it. Because while the XDJ-R1 works fine on its own, with an iDevice plugged in you are given extra options that add a decidedly controllerist twist to what would otherwise be a pretty traditional all-in-one mobile DJ-style unit.

What you actually see on the Remotebox screen adjusts in portrait and landscape modes to make most use of the screen space available, and you can choose which area to focus on, too. For instance, there are X/Y pads to control the Beat and Color FX, both of which are drip-downs from Pioneer's more expensive pro DJ gear; there's a "needle drop" for scrubbing through tracks; it offers better control over beat-matched loops; and most crucially, you get clear control over your library. This is just as well, taking into account the disappointingly limited LED screens provided for each deck. From the iDevice, you can easily access all of your playlists and folders, drag tunes onto decks, and search using the on-screen keyboard.

The unit appears more substantial than the XDJ-Aero, and has a metal faceplate.

It's important to note that no musical information crosses the network between iDevice and XDJ-R1; the music is on your USB drive, and needs to be organised using Pioneer's Rekordbox software. Although this software is also available for the iPad and iPhone, you'll still need a laptop because that's how you'll get the Rekordbox-organised music library onto a USB drive to plug in to your XDJ-R1. Also, all the hard work (ie the FX processing etc) goes on inside the hardware; again, the iDevice is only controlling it.

Of course, this is a true standalone unit, and you could equally simply DJ using CDs or even two line/phono sources added at the back, all without pairing up any iDevice at all. Thus it can be called a true "all-in-one" - whatever style of DJing you want to do, it can cope. there's actually quite a lot to this controller, and Pioneer's talkthrough video is very good, so we recommend you watch it (it's below) to fully understand the feature set.

First thoughts

The XDJ-R1 follows Pioneer's philosophy of not needing an actual computer involved in the playback of the music itself; in this instance, the iDevice is simply interacting with the Reckordbox-organised music library that's "physically" attached to it via the USB drive. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that: In fact I think it's rather neat, and it also provides a seamless "upgrade path" for DJs wanting to start at a (relative) entry level with an all-in-one controller, then "graduate" to Pioneer's pro gear in DJ booths, while not having to relearn as much as those making the same leap from full-on DJ software-based solutions like Traktor and Serato.

It's lovely to see the iPad's screen used how I think it makes a lot of sense - as a great library browser and to control extra features of the hardware. However (and for me it's a really big "but"), Pioneer seems to have missed a glaring chance to have two big, chunky parallel waveforms right there in front of the DJ - surely the most obvious use of all that screen real estate? The addition of this I think would have laptop DJs in their droves seriously considering this solution, as it packs a lot of the advantages of digital DJing without many of the perceived issues (mainly, having to lug a laptop around with you).

You're still going to want to use a laptop to prepare your library in Rekordbox and transfer that library to a USB... but Remotebox can take over from there.

As it is, though, this is still an appealing and innovative controller. Dropping the (to me rather gimmicky) wireless music streaming features of the XDJ-Aero for a promising v1 of an app that can be used as a good library browser, to control extra features, and as an all-out remote control for keeping control of the music when temporarily away from the XDJ-R1 (mobile guys will think of triggering jingles and countdowns, for instance) is a smart move.

Pioneer's addition of pro ins and outs and CD players has made it a viable and capable mobile DJ solution, and I can see mobile guys who want to explore some of the techniques usually employed by club or laptop DJs finding the XDJ-R1 appealing. If they'd just added waveforms, we'd be seriously thinking now whether Pioneer had just landed a significant blow on software DJing as a whole. As it is, the XDJ-R1 is definitely another step in that direction, but will probably be received by laptop DJs as a "not quite there yet".

Price: US$1099 / £899 / €999Availability: June 2013

• Demo the Remotebox app for yourself - it's in the App Store from today
• Read all the official words on the Pioneer website

Official video talkthrough

What do you think of the XDJ-R1? Is this the ultimate mobile DJ solution? Is Pioneer going down an interesting path here with Rekordbox / iOS remote control? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Nah that’s very untrue, CDJs are still very well the industry and club standard for dishing out tunes. But as of late, there have been more space on the console to place a laptop stand but laptop & controllers have not taken over CDJs yet, and don’t think that will happen anytime soon.

Sorry Dom, but that’s utter rubbish if you mean big clubs. While huge name Djs are accomodated in terms of bringing Traktor into the booth, and extra controllers, the CDJs are still the centre piece control method in a hardcore DJ booth. This will now become even more so now that Pioneer have added advanced HID control to the 900s and 2000s for those who do wish to use Traktor, and major clubs are still (perhaps even more and more so in recent days) displaying an increasing Traktor ‘backlash’ and wanting both laptop screens and controllers out of the booth. I have been using Traktor through several controllers for a few years now, but now that Rekordbox is coming into its own to manage and preplan I am thinking of moving back to CDjs using USB and leaving the laptop at home.

It’s a good unit and would be a gateway from CD to computer while still having back up. As for the standard. that can change from club to club. I’m seeing Urei’s and Ranes with Serato more and more. The CDJ are also used just for timecode or are used as controllers. To be honest Records had a run of what 25 years before starting to fade to CD’s? We are coming up on that same time frame with CDJ’s now as well. As for me I all but stopped using CD’s in ’99, replaced my = Pioneer CMX3000 with cortex HDC-1000 in 2006 as a backup player with a slim line CD player and a jump drive. It looks like Pioneer and Denon is very late to this party, but now that they are here they have a nice piece of kit.

At risk of sounding like I’m trolling (I’m not!) this product just seems kinda unnecessary to me. For the price of the controller ($1,099 RRP) plus the price of an iPad ($500), you could buy a laptop, Virtual DJ/Trakor/Serato, and any of a range of 4 deck controllers (mine is an AA VMS4.1), and have a world more flexibility and functionality. Sure, it’s got a nice brand name on it and I’m sure it’s a nice enough high quality product, but just kinda unnecessary IMHO.

If someone has club djing aspirations this is an affordable option to get familiar with pioneer gear also a $500 retina iPad or $350 iPad 2 is a cheaper option than buying a $1000+ laptop imho. As for 4 deck control, most mobile DJ’s like myself 2 channels is plenty. Lastly being able to play off USB without a laptop is just icing on the cake.

dude, you really are missing Pioneer’s point. They want the laptop out of the DJ booth. This is why they havent included waveforms in the remotebox app. They do not want you looking at the screen to interact with the music… they want you to listen. Whether you agree with them or not on removing the visual element and the laptop, this is their philosophy.

some people STILL plays cds, so its good to leave it in there. I played at an outdoor event last weekend, and this is what was in the booth. $ channel mixer with coming of that 2 1210s that could be used for standard vinyl or timecode. CDJ1000s the same, some used them for timecode cds, but some still played cds, and then over the course of the weekend plenty of others (including me) plugged in souncards to a line mixer and used controllers, some mixing of the controllers, and others using the controllers for decks with serato or traktor in external mixer mode!!!

For me its nice to have the option and not need it, than need the option and not have it!

I’m totally debatting myself if I should get it. Would be grate to have so I could have a full rekordbox setup at home. I’m not sure because I’ve just found a perfect was to intergrate my Mashine into my DDJ-SX Traktor setup.

the thing is I have Mashine synched to Traktor and using a virtual cable to rooth the output to deck D in traktor. And with the XDJ-R1 I can sync it to mashine and would need to bring a computer for Mashine. The DDJ SX is bigger then the XDJ but my guess is that the XDJ might be heavier then DDJ SX because of the CD drives.
So to keep the Mashine in my setup I would still need my MBP and adding an iPad to the setup (XDJ-R1 deservs to have it). I would need to carry more things around.
I’m still really intrested in getting XDJ-R1 for times when I’m not going to use Mashine for more regular gigs and it’s a bit more traveling friendly for playing out of town.

I saw this floating around a month ago on the interwebs(also mentioned in the rekordbox manual which kind of soft leaked it unintentionally), as a mobile DJ this is the product I’ve been waiting for from pioneer albeit some disappointment with screen on the hardware(was getting ready to purchase a DDJ-SX), glad I held off, will it work with traktor?, also Phil how does rekordbox handle massive libraries? Hopefully pioneer will update the software and allow waveform display.

i have a imported 3000 songs in rekordbox.yes it kinda buggy if there are a lot of sonds in one folder since it doesn’t scan each song individully.thus it skips a lot.the solution to this is to use laidback luke’s advice.make weekly folder.make then monthly folders with the top 50 songs of the month etc.you create quite a lot of copies of the same song however you have a bug free experience

I think this is a great solution for a nightclub install. I’m sure many DJs would like to use this as well but it’s playing on the high end of the price scale. Who knows, this may be even more popular than the DDJ-SX? It seems to me Pioneer is fighting this “It’s not legit unless it’s old school” angle with a new piece of gear. Pioneer is attempting to dominate the Controller industry, this is another controller attempting to fill the DJ gap. I suppose Native Instruments really needs to get their Traktor/Maschine compatibility in gear or they’re going to lose market share.

This is MUCH more than just ‘a controller’, in fact the midi control really seems to be an add on extra, this is principally the equivalent of having 2 x CDJ-625s (ok, thats obviously made up, but the CD players are WAY better than the 350s but not as good as the 850s), and a DJM-718 and 4/5ths. Only 2 channels, but switchable line/phono inputs AND a usb, so effectively this is 5 channels!! not including the aux, so that makes it 6! Also… colour FX! The midi controller aspect is an afterthought, this is designed to get the laptop out of the equation. Pioneer acts all friendly with NI, but basically it wants Traktor out of the club booth first AND wants half of the bedrooms also.

To me…pioneer should think about a more PRO DJ system
4 deck mixer with beat and color effect and 1 screen in the center (no ipad) something like the 1 screen from the cdj-2000 (which you would be able to toggle between deck or 4 parrallel waveforms) something like the stanton scs.4dj but like 10 times more advanced

even with a price tag of 2000$+…I would consider this
but I don’t think this new xdj-r1 is for me

I agree with Phil. Wish it supported waveforms on the hardware and the remote app. If it had that plus 8 cue points instead of 3, I might consider ditching my laptop. Also I’d like to see a thinner, more portable version without the CD drives. USB sticks are just way more convenient in my opinion. I think it’s a smart decision to have the music source attached to the device, but it would be nice to have the option to stream music wirelessly from an iDevice as well.

Although I am not considering this unit, I do think it is a clever thing to stick in CD players. I have had several USB sticks go south on me (like totally unrevivable!). Especially if you plan on playing someone else’s (untested) USB stick, it is good to know there is a CD backup plan lol.

Streaming from any device, be it bluetooth or wifi is a bad idea in any live setting, not only because of the inherent unstable performance character of the wireless connection, but even more because of the latency involved.

Add waveforms/music streaming/Rekordbox into the Remotebox app and you have a winner. Being able to see the waveforms and set cue points from the iPad and controller would allow people that don’t have the cash to spend on a full CDJ setup to get familiar with the workflow. It would also be an item of interest for CDJ-2000 or Nexus owners that want a system in a second room or as a compact travel option (how I would use it). I feel that by excluding waveforms and Rekordbox integration within Remotebox, Pioneer has lost a large potential customer base. I’m not going to buy another CDJ setup but I would have bought this if the criteria above had been met. A record to USB feature like what is on the Aero would have been icing on the cake.

Pioneer, you have already received a good amount of money from me. Would you like some more?

I am just gonna sit back and wait who brings out the first native support for the iDJ Pro: DJ Players (already in landscape mode and jam-packed with features) or Traktor DJ (not in landscape yet, but definite pleasure to use for on the road beatgridding, cueing and such) which works pretty good too.

hi guys, I just bought the xdj aero W, but didn’t receive it yet. JUST KNEW TODAY ABOUT THE XDJ R1 , it looks great, but does it work with rekordbox from android phone ( S4 ) like the Xdj aero. or only thru remotebox app and with Apple Products.? or it works with both?

Before laptops became super popular, I’d still see DJs quickly flipping through their vinyl crates and CD books. It’s not like anything has changed… Just the direction the DJ is facing when searching for tunes.

Would love a 4 Chanel version of this. I appreciate you can trigger the samples over the two channels however the units ability to deliver music from various sources (USB, CDJ, Laptop) makes this a mouthwatering prospect! I’d love to see a 4 Chanel version with more pads and DJM700 FX etc. great concept none the less. I’m gonna wait to see what happens next. Exciting times – Analogue dreams in a Digital age x

I’m surprised to see so many comment on the need for waveforms here. It seems to me that if you learned on laptops then maybe you’ve become dependent on them. DJs who learned on vinyl or even CDs never had waveforms. Even when playing on CDJ2000s I don’t look at them. What do you even need them for….to see where you’re at in the track or lining up your beats? The controller still comes with a sync button, which is the one thing I wish it didn’t have.

Bottom line: If you call yourself a DJ then you should know how to beat match and you should know the breaks and changes in your music…..INTUITIVELY. Therefore, if you need waveforms, you still need a lot more practice. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for saying that but sorry that’s just real talk folks.

As a club DJ, I think this controller is great. It finally takes the unpredictable laptop OUT of digital DJing while providing a single all-in-one unit. Keep in mind the the IPad is an option, it’s not required nor is it needed for use. I still use CDs all the time because I don’t use laptops to DJ. I’m a fan of the technology but I have a visual impairment that makes it challenging and fear the mid-set crash. But I do prefer to use USB sticks if the venue has CDJ900s or 2000s. There’s nothing like walking into a gig with a only a USB drive and headphones.

I’m not sure if I will buy this unit or not simply because I use the club’s gear and don’t really need the expense nor do I want to lug it to a club and worry about it getting stolen when I’m not playing. However, there are some venue’s with old, beat up gear and this would ensure that I’m always playing on familiar, quality equipment with just a USB and no laptop. For the mobile DJ, I think it’s a winner.

“If you call yourself a DJ then you should know how to beat match and you should know the breaks and changes in your music…..INTUITIVELY. Therefore, if you need waveforms, you still need a lot more practice. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for saying that but sorry that’s just real talk folks.”

We won’t slate you for that, but I disagree. As a DJ who’s also done it both ways, waveforms are a drop-dead no brainer of an improvement to a DJ’s toolkit, and once you’ve had good ones, you’ll miss them when they’re not there. It’s the digital equivalent of scanning the surface of your record looking for the breaks, only 1,000,000 times better. Liking having them is nothing to do with a lack of practice.

Another big one? It gives you a visual indication of when a track is slipping forward/back before you even hear it.

When I see them on the CDJ2000s, for me it’s just an indicator for where the break is. But like I said, I know my music. When I buy tracks I usually burn them to CDs and listen to them in my car several times before playing them. I know where those breaks are without having to look. It’s a great tool indeed but it shouldn’t be a make-or-break tool for buying this controller. Besides, they could easily add it to the iPad app in an update. Now for those that need waveforms to beat match, that’s not a tool, it’s a crutch. Learn to walk without it.

As I say once you’re used to something as brilliant as decent parallel waveforms, it becomes something you don’t want to live without. Accountants like calculators, but they shouldn’t need them. Doesn’t mean they’re not close to essential.

Agree, wave forms are just another really useful tool. As you say, they are equivalent to the smooth and grooved areas on records but much better.

David has a point in that moving the focus away from screens towards sound is probably a good thing.

I see it a little differently. Moving away from LAPTOP screens is a good thing yes. Laptops…ugh, they were always supposed to be transitionary (just like the CDJs ironically and look how long they stayed around). But keeping some kind of non-intrusive screen to hold all that really useful information, especially if its the beautiful ipad retina screen, is the best of both worlds.

TL;DR visual information is a good supplement to your ears, but having it on a laptop is becoming old real quick.

I am seriously considering selling my American Audio Radius 3000’s and Stanton m203 mixer and putting the cash towards this unit. Looks like it does everything my current setup does but in a smaller more portable package. Plus I am suspect to American Audio’s durability. I had 3 different Radius 1000’s and few different American Audio mixers just stop working without much use. The 3000’s have lasted me a year without issue but I always worry they will die quickly like the 1000’s did. The only thing I don’t like about all in one units is if something breaks to whole unit has be repaired or replaced. Do you think this would be a good or bad idea ?

Pioneer is still heavily invested in its Hardware only in the booth mission statement. It makes Traktor compatible stuff just to keep a connection with traktor users, but rekordbox and usb support has been designed specifically to get people back off DJ software and onto just the pioneer hardware solution, only using software for track and set management and preperation.

Having worked in IT for decades and having hands on experience with every aspect of WIFI, I’d be very hesitance to depend on it for live DJ gigs. There are so many things that can go wrong, with it, even in close proximity situations. This Pioneer device isn’t is less vulnerable (i.e. you could switch over to the hardware if your iPad connection died.

Speaking of streaming music for DJing, here’s a future scenario (or a really bad movie plot):

An evil minded DJ steals your big break gig on Ibiza (and your girlfriend of course) via some nefarious underhanded maneuver. Burt he doesn’t know that you also happen to be an uber hacker. So you get a friend to pose as a Pioneer exec and offer the villain a fat Pioneer endorsement contract if he’ll use the new Wi-Fi rig that night for the big gig. So you hack his Wi-Fi music streaming server during the big gig and make the bad guy look like the asshole that he is and then he gets booed off of the stage. And then of course the crowd start chanting for you to take over the decks, where you proceed to launch your world conquering career! Har har.

+1 on the edit function. It is just tooooo easy to embarass yourself on here, hehehe.

+100 on not trusting wifi for pro DJ-ing. I think they realised that at Pioneer too, with the Aero. Hence the switch to remote control I am guessing. Not needing an external wifi router/access point is certainly a plus.

I wasn’t too hot on this machine at first, but the thought is growing on me. I’ll wait til I can get my hands on one physically before deciding.

I’m definitely coming round to this device, the more I keep on thinking about it.

My MacBook Pro is getting ready for replacing (3+ years old, Core 2 duo). Now I could buy a new one £1k plus, or I could buy one of these for less money & carry on using my older mac for library / music management & as a back up. Also sell my Denon DNMC6000 to finance a big part of it.

This is pretty much my situation re: laptop. I have a kontrol s4 too which TBH I’m really happy with. It’s far more powerful than I need, but I like having the extra power there.

The main drawcard for me on this unit is the easy transition to club djing if I decide to get back into it (I DJed when 1210s were the standard, not CDJs). And the cool use of the iPad. Sucks about the waveforms, when I’m reasonably sure that could be added easily.

I’m thinking if I did swap from an S4 to this I’d really miss the 8 hot cues and easy portability. I checked the weight on the XDJ-R1 and its twice the weight of the S4. The S4’s lightness and portability is really really cool.

An online DJ shop contacted Pioneer after I asked about remotebox coming to Android and they said it is in development, that is a big plus for me who is not an Apple fan, my phone is an S3 mini so for me it is a free added option, going to upgrade from my DDJ-T1 for definite.

just posted above on all the negative things am hearing at moment. I would hope Pioneer will eventually sort it all out with firmware updates, worst case scenario would be recalls if its hardware issues not software!

Apart from the obvious issues, what is the build quality of the unit like in use… solid? How do the platters and the buttons feel, and the big question on most people’s minds is what are the tempo sliders like to use? Many seem concerned (including me) that they are too short to practically use for traditional beat-matching?

All plastic build but solid and has some weight to it, pitch faders are pretty accurate for being short throw, platters and buttons feel solid as well, as for the issues the current FW 1.04 is very buggy but not sure if this is the only culprit, I suspect there may be some hardware issues, I haven’t had any crashing yet albeit the longest session I’ve had with my unit was about an hour, my main issues is the auto loop being out of sync and BPM wandering, also sound quality issues (used it VDJ & Traktor with no issues at all and sound quality is much improved), if you go to the Pio DJ forum you will see all the other issues with this unit, it’s a solid piece and with remotebox it takes it to another level.

I bought one of these last week and although it’s the first equipment I’ve owned, I have been using it pretty much bug-free (scratching and all) and I haven’t updated the firmware yet.

The only thing I noticed that might be considered a bug: when you have an auto beat loop playing and change the tempo, sometimes it doesn’t quantize properly and you get a stutter at the end. Not really worried about that though, mathematically I’m sure I’m asking the impossible anyway.

I’d definitely recommend it for just about anyone who thinks they might find a use for one, beginner or pro.

Regardless of y’all’s POVs on the XDJ R1 and being a “real” DJ, I’m really considering buying my it because I’m a beginner and the last thing I need is to spend thousands on the CDJs. I’m 99.9% sure that it is completely worth buying. Any thoughts on the other .1%?

All interesting comments regarding the options and the functionality, but I haven’t heard anything about the sound…….I have CDJ’s and a DJM800 but am looking to go fully digital and more compact. I love my mixer and am curious how much fidelity and control I will be losing by, what I imagine would be, down scaling to the mixer built into the unit. I’m not too tech savvy in this department, so any info or opinions would be appreciated.

I have heard that this unit is buggy so much of problems in it could anybody help me out ? Should I buy this Product or not Has anybody got it yet and try hands on it because am in India so cant check and get a feel of it had to get it shipped…

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